CVE-2014-7057 in Hong Kong Tatler Society
Summary
by MITRE
The Hong Kong Tatler Society (aka com.magzter.hongkongtatlersociety) application 3.0 for Android does not verify X.509 certificates from SSL servers, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and obtain sensitive information via a crafted certificate.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/28/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-7057 affects the Hong Kong Tatler Society Android application version 3.0, representing a critical security flaw in the application's implementation of secure communications. This weakness stems from the application's failure to properly validate X.509 certificates during SSL/TLS connections, creating a significant attack surface that adversaries can exploit to compromise user data integrity and confidentiality. The vulnerability specifically targets the certificate verification process that is fundamental to establishing trust in secure communications between mobile applications and remote servers.
The technical flaw manifests as a missing certificate validation mechanism within the application's SSL implementation, which directly violates established security protocols and industry standards. According to CWE-295, this represents a weakness in certificate validation where the application fails to properly verify the authenticity and integrity of SSL certificates presented by remote servers. The absence of proper certificate pinning or validation allows attackers to perform man-in-the-middle attacks by presenting forged certificates that appear legitimate to the vulnerable application. This flaw operates at the transport layer security level where cryptographic protocols should ensure secure data transmission, making it particularly dangerous for applications handling sensitive user information or financial transactions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data interception, as it enables sophisticated attack vectors that can compromise user privacy and system integrity. Attackers can exploit this weakness to redirect users to malicious servers, capture sensitive information such as login credentials, personal data, or financial information transmitted through the application. The vulnerability is particularly concerning for mobile applications that handle user authentication or financial transactions, as it provides attackers with a pathway to impersonate legitimate services and gain unauthorized access to user accounts. This weakness can be leveraged across various attack scenarios including credential theft, data exfiltration, and service disruption, making it a significant risk to both individual users and the organization maintaining the application.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2014-7057 must address the fundamental certificate validation failure through comprehensive security enhancements. Organizations should implement proper certificate pinning mechanisms that validate certificate chains against known good certificates, ensuring that only trusted certificates are accepted for secure communications. The implementation should follow industry best practices such as those outlined in NIST SP 800-57 for cryptographic key management and TLS protocol implementation. Additionally, developers should incorporate certificate validation libraries that properly implement X.509 certificate chain validation, including checking certificate expiration dates, verifying certificate authorities, and ensuring proper certificate signatures. Security measures should also include regular security assessments and penetration testing to identify similar vulnerabilities in other applications, as this weakness can be present in various mobile applications that fail to properly implement SSL certificate validation mechanisms. The remediation process requires complete code review and reimplementation of secure communication protocols to prevent future occurrences of similar vulnerabilities in the application's architecture.